This is my post from 361 days ago (you can read the full post on April 30, 2015 H&F thread):
Kathryn-in-Canada wrote:I'm restarting.
I've set a Freedom 55 goal.....
By my 55th birthday (in September, i.e. 18 weeks away) I want the following:
1. Freedom from obesity. I can't make my goal weight which is 49 pounds away as of this morning. But I should be easily able to get below 174 which is the cutoff for obesity. The line between normal and overweight is 145 for me, which is still too aggressive a goal (almost 2.5 pounds per week.)
2. Freedom from knee/joint pain. I've been in pain for far too long, basically since moving here. I had bouts of pain at the old house but I also had long stretches of minor discomfort. Losing weight is key to reducing pain but I also have increase my flexibility. So I'll be tracking the days I do my physio.
3. Freedom from poor body image. I'm assuming as my pain level reduces and my body gets closer to a normal size, my poor body image will improve. But I'll be working at continuing to make the little changes that help (dress better, attention to eyebrows, finger and toe nails, etc.)
To achieve these goals, I will do the following:
1. restart food tracking using MyFitnessPal. ....
2. use all the tracking capability of the fitbit website. I've added a physio tracker and bike ride tracker, for instance, and am entering my weight. Food info and activity levels transfers automatically between MyFitnessPal and fitbit.
3. reduce the goals on fitbit. I've dropped my daily steps to 7K from 10K. I've lowered the number of staircases as well. This will give me more 'green' on my daily dashboard and more positive reinforcement compared to the negative I've been feeling.
So I need to restart again.
I achieved those Freedom 55 goals. Since then I read a book that stressed systems not goals. I understand the thinking but the current system I have isn't working and when I used goals I did better. So it is back to goals.
I'm still not obese again, but I have gained a few pounds since December. And tried to turn things around at least twice with no luck.
So, drumroll please....
Before Becoming a Grandmother Goals (in 23+/- 2 weeks since babies are unreliable)1. No longer overweight. For that goal, I have to lose, on average, just over 1 pound a week. I did it before, I can do it again.
2. Logging food daily - Tracking food on MFP keeps me more honest. While the scale may not reflect any individual few days in a row, it does reflect trends and if I'm constantly trending over, then I'm constantly gaining, or at least not losing. In the past year, I've learned to think of 1200 calories as my base for the day, instead of 1800, so now when I trend over, it doesn't automatically add weight to me unless I do it for months on end.
3. Start tracking other things on a spreadsheet. Not sure what to track but # of steps will be one item. Trendlines are important, those are visible when you have data.
4. Start using Rewire. I downloaded it last week, but apparently I have to use it too! I'll track days I meet my habits of water, tracking food, non-step exercise (stretches/biking/swimming)
Oh, and I'm starting tomorrow! It will take that long to get the tracking elements functioning....